I’ve posted a couple of times before regarding a failed Hasegawa P-51 and a completed Tamiya Sherman. Today I finally finished a plane, my first one in at least 20 years or so. I built models when I was a kid (I’m now 48) and pursued it again before I had kids of my own. The passing of a friend renewed my interest and I’ve been learning through my failed attempts.
So anyways, on a whim, I decided to tackle a WWI biplane even though I had no prior experience. I figured this kit might be doable for my beginner skills and until the end was up in the air about the rigging. I assembled this straight out of the box and followed Eduards directions with no deviations. Heck, I just wanted to build something!
The plane was finished with Alclad Aluminum. I did not prime it with gloss black, as the Alclad website said just use primer. For that I used Mr Surfacer 1200. Painting the fuselage and the wings took a few times as I kept getting lint and dust here and there. That was probably a bigger PIA than the rigging! Underside of the wings and the tail were painted with Tamiya. I didn’t use the tail decal as I wanted color to match the wings. Rigging was done with ez line and although it was tough at first I got the hang of it. At the end I decided against weathering for the time being. I just wanted to experience getting a kit done! That’s not to say I may not go back and mess around with this.
In the end, I think the plane looks pretty good. Not great, but somewhat passable. I was heavy handed with the glue here and there, and there is a seam or two showing in some spots, but for an old beginner I’ll take it.
I’d appreciate any feedback, particularly how to weather a metallic finish on a biplane as I definitely want to do this again. Next up will be another stab at a Mustang. I gotta believe I’ll get it right. Eventually .
I like this a lot, and you did a great job on getting that flawless aluminum finish.
For weathering, you can apply a dark pin wash to the recesses of the control surfaces. Maybe a few light streaks of oil emanating from behind the cowl line. Some dirt in the form of earth coloured powders to the tire/wheels. Depends on your style of finish, but some people like to have every detail pop, so you can apply some lighter washes in those areas.
Wow, PeteG, just “pretty good”? Really? No, man. That is absolutely beautiful. Nice work!
Normally I’m a big fan of weathering and highly recommend a good dark wash, usually followed with some metallic dry-brushing. But please, please, PLEASE don’t weather this bird. You did such an outstanding job on this very convincing metal skin, leave it looking factory fresh. Weathering would be an insult.
Very nice! The rigging is particularly nice. I know a number of experienced modelers who will not tackle a WW1 subject because they are afraid of rigging. Weathering natural metal finish is a subject worthy of a big discussion (maybe someone should do an FSM article on it). Now, I mean actual bare metal, not aluminum painted surfaces, which can be weathered by normal weathering techniques.
And thanks so much to all who have offered their input thus far. All of the positive feedback is very encouraging and motivating. I really value the opinions of those on here and am always blown away by the work I see on the boards. My next kit that I started this morning in Tamiya’s P-51D Tuskagee Airmen. Some may recall that I built the Hasegawa kit, but screwed the pooch with a bad sludge wash. However, I am taking all that I learned from that and the Eduard kit and applying it here. I’m now experimenting with adding just a few photo-etched parts. Not going hog-wild but just a few pieces on the seat. With each build I’m going to try and push myself more and more.
It is a more accurate and neater application, and when done carefully does not require wiping up excess wash. You are basically relying on capillary action to do the work for you, so the mix is fairly thin.
